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Jack Martin Jr (1966)

I worked one summer at Spreckels.  Like Orv, I was a sample carrier.  I had to walk around to the various stations with my tray of small containers and collect at the top of every hour.  The good news was that it only took 15-20 minutes or so, and for the rest of the hour I could just sit and read a magazine.  The bad news, as Larry alluded to, was the hours.  It was 7 straight on day shift, then 2 days off.  Then 7 straight on swing and 2 off.  Then 7 straight on grave, 2 off.  The rotating shifts messed with my head and body, and the concept of a "weekend" disappeared into the mist.

On one occasion I reported to my supervisor that one of the samples was showing an abnormal reading, and he truly freaked.  I did too, as he seemed to think the entire place was about to blow.  But they pretty quickly got it under control.  Not much in the way of pay (don't recall the exact hourly, somebody said $ 1.97 per, sounds about right), and one summer was quite enough.

Greg Kareofelas (1962)

Orv reminded me about the canvas filters used in the process. This is one of the actual filter canvas - When I worked at Spreckels, I drove my Model A (pictured with my sister Sue) and I needed something to keep stuff in the trunk from rattling around. I used one of the canvas filters. It somehow managed to get saved :-) & I still use it as a cover in the garage!

Theresa Eve (1964)

Greg, great picture of the canvas, but outstanding picture of Sue.  She never changed.  Always a beauty.  Great old car.  

Greg Kareofelas (1962)

Thanks Theresa - I think I am now all out of Spreckels "stuff", what can we talk about now?? We have to come up with something fun :-)

David Hughes (1967)

Tomatoes!  When I attended Gibson elementary it was surrounded on three sides by tomato fields farmed by John Wetzel.  I the late summer when school started, I carried a salt shaker I. borrowed from the Brownie Drivein my parents owned and would eat at least two tomatoes a day.  John did not mind as my Mom would occasionally give John a free coffee at the Brownie.

David Hughes (1967)

Sorry for the misspelling.  fat thumbs and small phone   Greg I am with Theresa that is a really great picture of Sue.  I bet you wish you that car today 

Greg Kareofelas (1962)

Yes David, I can remember carrying a salt shaker - when the tomatoes in the fields tasted great :-). even when I was young, carrying a "Lug Box" full of tomatoes was heavy :-) and I only did it a few times, in Uncle John's friend fields to get some for grandma to can. They can pick today's tomatoes with a machine but they sure don't taste like the old ones did!

Greg Kareofelas (1962)

Yes David, because that was such a great pic of Sue, is the reason I chose it. Having the Model A only exist in "Memory" means batteries don't go dead, don't have to worry about DMV, Insurance etc, A mixed blessing :-)

Theresa Eve (1964)

Sue the beauty queen.  Yes, those original beefstake tomatoes were the best!  Great flavor.  We enjoyed all those fields.  Mother worked at Gibson School when it was just built.  Many fields around it.  Big farmers, Wetzel Brothers, Gormans, Heidricks, Hatcher, etc.  The harverster required a tougher skined tomato.   

Joel Childers (1966)

One summer, desperate for money, I went out to the tomato fields and asked for a job picking. I don't remember who's farm. Anyway, I couldn't hack it. I quit after 3 crates. You should have seen the farm workers laugh at me as I slinked away.

Many years later, living and working in Seattle, I accompanied two government attorneys one August to Sacramento where we were negotiating a settlement with a contractor who did work at our Petaluma Coast Guard station. On our time off, we took the River Road to Woodland. I warned the guy driving to be careful, as the roads around Woodland would have tomatoes spilled all over them. They couldn't believe it when we got near town and they saw how many tomatoes were spilled. I explained that was no problem and that trains would roll out of Woodland with dozens and dozens of freight cars overflowing with tomatoes.

I do miss the Yolo County fair and the smiling tomato head at the entrance.

Bernard Rocksvold (1965)

Used to always try to find an empty onion sack during tomato season. Would ride my bike out to the tomato fields early in the morning and fill the onion sack with tomatos and them put them in an irrigation ditch. Comming back into town later in the day, would fish them out of the irrigation ditch and with the help of a trusty salt shaker would have the best cold tomatos ever eaten in the free world!

Burke Fong (1967)

Greg Kareofelas (1962)

 _{I don't want to break the chain about talking about "tomato memories", but Burke mentioned the Hong Kong and I remembered that one of the slides that dad took in the mid 1950's of the Fair Parade showed the corner of Main and First Street and you can see the sign for the Hong Kong Chop Suey Cafe}

Greg Kareofelas (1962)

You are so right Bernie, the tomatoes in the fields around Woodland in the old days were the best tasting - nothing like the ones today!! I too, used to carry a salt shaker when I knew I would be close to a field of tomatoes

Ronald Cleve (1968)

I picked tomatoes for a week one summer. It took forever to get the smell to go away. To this day I wash thoroughly after working with the ones we grew this year

Stephen Bick (1966)

I picked tomatoes several days back in the 1960's.  I found it to be hot dirty work and I gained a lot of respect for the Mexican workers - they worked very fast and they definitely earned their money.   Some years before that I picked black walnuts with Chip Morris.  The stain from those nuts was hard to wash away.   

Theresa Eve (1964)

Tomato Harvester Inventor U. C. Davis. (Tried to make this larger, if you open on your computer you can read.)

Ron Blickle (1963)

So sorry to hear about the Heidrick Ag Museum closing.  Does anyone know what will become of that amazing accumulation of farm equipment?  While on that subject, there is an article about the history of tomatoes and the various harvesters that were mentioned in Theresa's post.  I am attaching a link to that article hoping you will be able to open it.

http://www.aghistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Newsletter-Spring-2013.pdf

Joel Childers (1966)

I worked occasionally at my older brothers' shop helping make the belts for the conveyor systems for various harvesters, including the long sorting belts for the tomato harvesters. The harvesters were mostly a huge improvement over the old manual method although they didn't completely replace hand picking. The last time I was in Woodland, we visited the Heidrick (sp?) Museum. Several of the harvesters displayed our conveyor belts. I'm glad I got to visit before it closed. 

Lynn Drumright (Black) (1961)

The downside of the tomato harvester was the fact that they had to create a version of tomatoe that were hard enough that they didn't get all squished when the tomato harvester picked them up. So we lost those wonderful, big juicy tomatoes that you could just go steal out of the field and eat with a little salt sitting on your tailgate. 

Bernard Rocksvold (1965)

You are so right Lynn. My good friend grows heirloom tomatos from seed, then I plant the seedlings in my garden. We share the harvest of those big juicy tomatos, sometimes into November. Nothing like pickin' an eatin' right there in the garden.

Darlene Hooker (Kirch-Brown) (1965)

I'm wondering how many of us actually worked on those tomato harvesters back in the day when they were first coming on the market.  I worked for two summers between college, first for a farmer in Winters and then, I think, somewhere in Sacramento.  I remember several kids from the high school were also on the harvester but can't remember who.  Even though it was hot, I remember we made it a lot of fun also.

Richard S. Klenhard (1967)

Talking about working the fields?  As the new kid in Woodland - late summer of '65 I heard it was the "Cheer-leaders" working the tomatoes and the Football team 'bucking' the hay as a way to get started on the football field,  Go wolves!

Orval Hughes (1964)

Tomatpes was part of a lagre part of growing up in Woodland.

I worked at Contidana for a couple of seasonsI also inspected tomatoes in anourd 1971 or so.in the state inspection station in Esparto.  The variety (if my memory serves) was L-41.  That was the first generation of hybrid tomatoes that we started to inspect

Theresa Eve (1964)

Oh yes I was on the tomato harvester.  Did not know what to wear, but rubber gloves were a must because of the acid from the tomatoes caused your arms to itch.  Dust was everywhere, so a scarf was needed.  Had to be up early as work started at 6:00  or 7:00 a.m.  I did not last.  Especially when this guy put a mouse on my neck.  So much for farm labor.